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Baadasssss Cinema

2002, Movie, NR, 60 mins

Baadasssss Cinema: Review

BAADASSSSS CINEMA
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English director Isaac Julien's history of blaxploitation movies, whose title is a play on Melvin Van Peebles's pioneering 1971 SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSS SONG, may not be the last word on the genre. But as quick and dirty overviews go, it's a blast. Blaxploitation movies burned bright and flamed out fast; born in 1971, they were gasping their last degenerate breaths four years later. But what years they were! Julian knows his history; he understands how van Peebles's searing SWEET SWEETBACK built a bridge between independent exploitation, experimental filmmaking and an increasingly empowered African-American audience clamoring to see movies in which black folks didn't always get the short end of the stick. He brings out the experts to tie in the legacy of the Civil Rights era and Black Power movement; explore the contradictory message of SUPERFLY (1972), whose apparent celebration of drug dealing is deliberately undermined by its score; and explain the way in which movies reflected the sublimation of genuine revolutionary fervor into bluster and compulsive display of flash and cash. But mostly he lets the soul survivors bear witness to the glory days of expansive afros, resplendent wardrobes and funky soundtracks, and they're as eloquent as they are enduringly cool. Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, director Van Peebles (yes, Mario Van Peebles's dad), Pam Grier and Gloria Hendry are all on hand, and Julien unearths fascinating footage of director Gordon Parks and composer Isaac Hayes working on the groundbreaking score for SHAFT (1971). The actors are also quick to point out that they didn't consider themselves exploited, nor did they think they were taking advantage of their audiences. Hendry and Williamson both attribute the term "blaxploitation," with its vaguely derogatory connotations, to bluestockings at CORE (the Congress of Racial Equality) and the NAACP, who found the films' appeal too lowbrow for their liking. Julien is generous with the clips: THE MACK (1973), HELL UP IN HARLEM (1973), BLACK BELT JONES (1974), COFFY (1973), FOXY BROWN (1974), BLACK CAESAR (1973), SLAUGHTER'S BIG RIP-OFF (1973), CLEOPATRA JONES AND THE CASINO OF GOLD (1975), BLACULA (1972) and more. The time-capsule aspect alone is mind blowing, as is the fact that the success of blaxploitation movies didn't translate into broader opportunities for most of the actors in them. And to his eternal credit, Julien isn't afraid to go out on a down note. "Black Hollywood?" says Williamson. "Yeah right. Sure, in somebody's mind maybe. But it don't exist." leave a comment --Maitland McDonagh
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